Thermoresponsive Effects in Droplet Size Distribution, Chemical Composition, and Antibacterial Effectivity in a Palmarosa (Cymbopogon martini) O/W Nanoemulsion

abstract

The design of emulsions at the nanoscale is a significant application of nanotechnology. For spherical droplets and a given volume of dispersed phase, the nanometre size of droplets inversely increases the total area, (Formula presented.), allowing greater contact with organic and inorganic materials during application. In topical applications, not only is cell contact increased, but also permeability in the cell membrane. Nanoemulsions typically achieve kinetic stability rather than thermodynamic stability, so their commercial application requires reasonable resistance to flocculation and coalescence, which can be affected by temperature changes. Therefore, their thermoresponsive characterisation becomes relevant. In this work, we analyse this response in an O/W nanoemulsion of Palmarosa for antibacterial purposes that has already shown stability for one year at controlled room temperature. We now study hysteresis processes and the behaviour of the statistical distribution in droplet size by Dynamic Light Scattering, obtaining remarkable stability under temperature changes up to 50 °C. This includes a maintained chemical composition observed using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and the preservation of antibacterial properties analysed through optical density tests on cultures and the Spread-Plate technique for bacteria colony counting. We obtain practically closed hysteresis curves for some tracers of droplet size distributions through controlled thermal cycles between 10 °C and 50 °C, exhibiting a non-linear behaviour in their distribution. In general, the results show notable physical, chemical, and antibacterial stability, suitable for commercial applications. © 2025 by the authors.